Every week, Sami Shah (ABC, The Gadfly)—comedian, journalist, and award-winning writer of words—put the ew in news.

TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK

Riffing Tariffs!

Monsters in Mandalay!

Le Love and Le Law is Blind!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Fairness is for nerds and this school runs on vibes and vengeance.”

— On Trump’s lunchroom approach to global trade policy.

💸 SUPPORT THE SHOW

Join the Patreon at patreon.com/samishah

Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.

For more: http://thesamishah.com

Theme music 'Historic Anticipation' by Paul Mottram

This podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah.

Get bonus content on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every week, Sami Shah (ABC, The Gadfly)—comedian, journalist, and award-winning writer of words—cuts the breaks on the news cycle and watches it pedal into traffic.

TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK

Budget Bribes Australians for Cheap!

Salmon Fishing in The Tassie!

Pro-Palestine Protests Rock Gaza—Against Hamas!

Meta’s Literary Heist!

Support the Show!

• Ad-free episodes & discounts ➡️ Patreon.com/SamiShah

Theme music 'Historic Anticipation' by Paul Mottram

This podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah.

Get bonus content on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

🎉 NEWS WEAKLY 150 – 22nd March 2025 🎉

It’s the big 150th episode of News Weakly—and we’re celebrating with the usual mix of headlines, satire, and one possibly horny space capsule.

🧨 Top Stories of the Week

Dutton’s Referendumb!

The Ceasefire That Couldn’t Cease Fire

SpaceX or Space Sex?

🧠 Quote of the Week

“Dutton isn’t trying to be America’s Trump. Trump is America’s Dutton.”

💥 Support the Show!

Join the Patreon at patreon.com/samishah for bonus content and the warm feeling of morally superior support.

🎟️ Also: The 150th episode was recorded LIVE at Comedy Republic in Melbourne! If you were there, you’re part of history. If not, you’re part of regret.

Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.

For more: http://thesamishah.com

🎵 Theme music 'Historic Anticipation' by Paul Mottram

This podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah.

Get bonus content on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every week, Sami Shah (ABC, The Gadfly)—comedian, journalist, and award-winning writer of words—breaks down the biggest stories with just enough sarcasm to keep us from screaming into the void.

🎟 Live Show Alert! Tickets for the News Weakly 150th episode live show are on sale now! March 21st, 6:30pm, at Comedy Republic, Melbourne. Get them at ComedyRepublic.com.au, or join Patreon for a discount: Patreon.com/SamiShah.

🗞 This Week on News Weakly:

• An editorial rant about free speech, comic book legal defence, Neil Gaiman, and the right to blasphemy.

🎧 Support the Show!

• Ad-free episodes & discounts ➡️ Patreon.com/SamiShah
• 🎟 Live show tickets ➡️ ComedyRepublic.com.au

Thanks for listening! See you next week!

Get bonus content on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every week, Sami Shah (ABC, The Gadfly)—comedian, journalist, and award-winning writer of words—breaks down the biggest stories with just enough sarcasm to keep us from screaming into the void.

🎟 Live Show Alert! Tickets for the News Weakly 150th episode live show are on sale now! March 21st, 6:30pm, at Comedy Republic, Melbourne. Get them at ComedyRepublic.com.au, or join Patreon for a discount: Patreon.com/SamiShah.

🗞 This Week on News Weakly:

• Terror Plot or Marlboro Smuggling Ruse? – The Sydney "terror" caravan was actually a bikie gang ploy, but Peter Dutton won’t let that stop him from stoking paranoia.
• Victoria’s Bail Laws: Tough, Then Soft, Then Tough Again! – Because why fix the justice system when you can just keep reacting to headlines?
• Trump’s Tariffs Hit Australia! – Albanese had a lot to say about a viral wombat video but not much about the US making our steel and aluminium exports 25% more expensive.
• Syria: The War After the War – The new government promised peace, but instead, they’re carrying out sectarian massacres. So… progress?
• Justice for Some, Not for All – Duterte gets arrested for war crimes, but Netanyahu remains untouchable. Because international law is just vibes now.

🎧 Support the Show!

• Ad-free episodes & discounts ➡️ Patreon.com/SamiShah
• 🎟 Live show tickets ➡️ ComedyRepublic.com.au

Thanks for listening! See you next week!

Get bonus content on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every week, Sami Shah (ABC, The Gadfly)—comedian, journalist, and award-winning writer of words—breaks down the biggest stories with just enough sarcasm to keep us from screaming into the void.

🎟 Live Show Alert! Tickets for the News Weakly 150th episode live show are on sale now! March 21st, 6:30pm, at Comedy Republic, Melbourne. Get them at ComedyRepublic.com.au, or join Patreon for a discount: Patreon.com/SamiShah.

This Week:

🔹 Australia’s new anti-terrorism strategy: Hope that Barry is on your flight!

🔹 Israel-Hamas peace talks continue! Just kidding!

🔹 Trump is America’s Hydra Cap, and Ukraine is realizing they’re in a Marvel villain origin story.

Quote of the Week:

"You don’t think, you act." – Barry, Legend of Avalon Airport.

🎧 Support the Show!

Join Patreon.com/SamiShah for the ad-free version!

🎟 Live show tickets: ComedyRepublic.com.au

Thanks for listening! See you next week!

Get bonus content on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every week, Sami Shah (ABC, The Gadfly)—comedian, journalist, and award-winning writer of words—breaks down the biggest stories with just enough sarcasm to keep us from screaming into the void.

🎟 Live Show Alert! Tickets for the News Weakly 150th episode live show are on sale now! March 21st, 6:30pm, at Comedy Republic, Melbourne. Get them at ComedyRepublic.com.au, or join Patreon for a discount: Patreon.com/SamiShah.

This Week:

Australia finally lets Qatar Airways expand its flights—but only after blocking them for a year, proving once again that our government moves at the speed of a dial-up modem.

Peter Dutton somehow managed to play the stock market like a pro during the 2008 crash. Inside trading? Luck? Just another case of a politician accidentally getting richer while the rest of us suffered?

Meanwhile, Donald Trump shares an AI-generated fever dream of Gaza as a luxury resort, featuring yachts, bearded belly dancers, and Netanyahu sipping cocktails. Is this dystopia or just another day in the Trump multiverse?

Quote of the Week:

"I haven’t seen logic this inconsistent since the last time the Federal Government did anything."

🎧 Support the Show!

Support News Weakly! Join at Patreon.com/SamiShah.

🎟 Live show tickets: ComedyRepublic.com.au

Thanks for listening! See you next week!

Get bonus content on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every week, Sami Shah (ABC, The Gadfly)—comedian, journalist, and award-winning writer of words—breaks down the biggest stories with just enough sarcasm to keep us from screaming into the void.

🎟 Tickets for the 150th episode live show are on sale now! March 21st, 6:30pm, at Comedy Republic in Melbourne.

Get them at comedyrepublic.com.au, or join Patreon for a discount: patreon.com/samishah.

This Week:

• Jewish and Muslim communities are fighting over whose discrimination is worse, instead of uniting against the actual racists. Who wins?
• Trump called Zelensky a "dictator" and blamed him for Russia invading Ukraine. Meanwhile, Putin’s celebrating and Europe’s losing its mind. But Trump’s too busy demanding Ukraine’s rare minerals to care.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Trump will blame Pearl Harbor for antagonising the Japanese pilots by floating there so provocatively."

🎧 SUPPORT THE SHOW!

Help keep News Weakly ad-free and independent! Sign up at Patreon.com/SamiShah.

🎟 Live show tickets: ComedyRepublic.com.au

Thanks for listening! See you next week!

Get bonus content on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NEWS WEAKLY – 144 (8th February, 2025)

🎟 Tickets to the News Weakly 150th Episode Live Show are ON SALE NOW! 🎟

📅 Date: March 21st, 6:30pm

📍 Venue: Comedy Republic, Melbourne

🎟 Tickets: comedyrepublic.com.au

💸 Patreon members get a special discount code and the joy of keeping News Weakly ad-free at patreon.com/samishah.

TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK

🚨 Do as Trump says but don’t do as Trump do be do!

All that, and more, on NEWS WEAKLY!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

"We’ve had to say that Israel isn’t an apartheid state, it’s just a state that’s committing apartheid. It isn’t committing genocide in Gaza, it just says it wants to and acts like it wants to. And now this won’t be US and Israel committing ethnic cleansing, it’ll just be a general cleansing of one ethnicity."

EPISODE SUMMARY:

🗺️ From the River to the Casino, News Now…

Remember when people said Israel wasn’t going to take over Gaza? Well, surprise! That’s exactly what’s happening! Pro-Israel voices who dismissed concerns of annexation now have the same credibility as a guy swearing he doesn't watch porn. Meanwhile, Trump voters who thought he’d be softer on Gaza than Biden are discovering that ‘5% of the population left’ is somehow worse than ‘100% of the population bombed’.

Trump’s latest grand idea? The United States should take control of Gaza, because nothing screams stability like an American occupation. While Netanyahu struggles to hide his glee, even Trump’s own press secretary had to issue an immediate "What he meant was…" statement. But don’t worry, Trump himself clarified in the best way possible—with a deranged social media post about turning Gaza into a luxury development project.

Meanwhile, the Arab states have condemned Trump’s statement, but let’s be honest—the Arab states are as reliable as a weather app predicting Melbourne’s forecast. And while some optimists still think Trump is just saying things, history tells us when authoritarians move fast and break things, they don’t rebuild them with democratic values in mind.

SUPPORT THE SHOW!

If you enjoy News Weakly, help keep it ad-free and independent by supporting on Patreon:

🔗 patreon.com/samishah

🎟 Get your tickets now for the 150th Episode Live Show!

🔗 comedyrepublic.com.au

🎵 Theme music: "Historic Anticipation" by Paul Mottram

📝 Written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah

Get bonus content on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NEWS WEAKLY – 1st February, 2025

🎟 Tickets to the News Weakly 150th Episode Live Show are now available! 🎟

The show is on March 21st at 6:30pm at Comedy Republic, Melbourne.

🎟 Grab your tickets at comedyrepublic.com.au

🎟 Patreon members get a discount code and the warm glow of knowing they keep News Weakly ad-free and listener-supported! Sign up at patreon.com/samishah.

TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK

🚨 Nothing good ever happens in a caravan!

🚨 Trump wants Hamas to have more babies!

🚨 You can’t spell China without A and I!

All that, and just a little bit more, on NEWS WEAKLY!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

"If it looks like a hate crime, smells like a hate crime, and involves explosives targeting a synagogue, there’s a fairly high chance it’s not a quirky art installation."

EPISODE SUMMARY:

🔴 Explosive Discourse, News Now…

A caravan full of explosives, a synagogue on the target list, and some TikTok drifters caught in the middle—Australia’s antisemitic attacks are either the worst-organized hate crimes in history or proof that someone is paying people to be Nazis. Meanwhile, Peter Dutton continues his one-man mission to make everything worse.

🎭 Lights, Camera, Prisoner Exchange, News Now…

The Gaza ceasefire continues, with more hostages and prisoners swapped, while Hamas turns every handover into a Broadway production. Netanyahu, not to be outdone, delays releases for maximum drama, because in this conflict, optics matter more than human lives. Meanwhile, Israel keeps arresting more Palestinians just in case they need a fresh batch for future swaps, and America wants Hamas to use less contraception.

🔥 Swedes Didn’t Start the Fire, News Now…

Sweden’s most controversial amateur arsonist, Salwan Momika, has been shot dead, and now everyone is using his death to confirm their worst fears.

🤖 My AI is Cheaper Than Your AI, News Now…

Nvidia, once the golden god of AI stocks, just lost $600 billion in market value—because China’s AI game just levelled up. DeepSeek made waves with a cost-effective AI model, then Alibaba swooped in with something even better than GPT-4. Meanwhile, Trump isn’t thrilled about America losing its AI dominance, but instead of doing something productive, he’s probably going to start a trade war with China instead.

SUPPORT THE SHOW!

If you enjoy News Weakly, help keep it ad-free by supporting on Patreon:

🔗 patreon.com/samishah

🎟 Get your tickets now for the 150th Episode Live Show!

🔗 comedyrepublic.com.au

🎵 Theme music: "Historic Anticipation" by Paul Mottram

📝 Written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah Get bonus content on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.